In celebration of World Oceans Day, which takes place today, gaming brand Razer announced that it's joining forces with startup ClearBot to help redesign its AI robot that cleans up marine plastics.
Since 2019, Hong Kong-based startup ClearBot has been developing autonomous, solar-powered watercraft that use artificial intelligence to collect waste out of different areas in the ocean. The ClearBot team designs robots that leverage AI-vision to identify different types of marine plastic waste and collects information regarding these pollutants in the oceans to protect aquatic life.
However, according to Oceana, around 17.6 billion pounds of plastic are thrown into the ocean from land-based sources every year. To put it into perspective, that is roughly the equivalent of dumping a garbage truck full of plastic into the water every minute. With this amount of waste that pollutes the ocean, ClearBot's robots can hardly handle the job.
Under this partnership, Razer's engineers and designers will help create a scalable and mass-marketable prototype. By drawing on Razer's substantial research and manufacturing know-how, ClearBot was able to improve the robot's design into one that is smarter and more efficient.
The robots are now able to collect up to 551 pounds (250 kg) of waste on a single mission and up to 1 ton per day. This newly developed autonomous robot is equipped with better AI and machine learning capabilities, allowing it to detect plastic waste within 6.5 ft (2 meters).
ClearBot has also launched a call to action through its program to collect data on marine plastic trash to encourage active engagement from the community for this year's World Oceans Day.
The startup encourages the public to share images of marine plastics that they find in the water and upload them on ClearBot's website. These pictures will be included in the existing database and will help improve the robots' waste detection AI algorithm.
This collaboration is not the first green initiative that Razer has taken. Back in March, the gaming company also announced its plans to minimize and completely eliminate the use of single-use plastics in all workplaces in order to cut Greenhouse Gas emissions, maintain bio-habitats, and achieve a carbon neutrality goal of 100 percent by 2030.
Florina taught herself how to drive in a Daewoo Tico (a rebadged Suzuki Alto kei car) but her first "real car" was a VW Golf. When she’s not writing about cars, drones or aircraft, Florina likes to read anything related to space exploration and take pictures in the middle of nature. Full profile
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